Devices constituting corrugated sheet elements or plates and their various applications



Dec. 23, 1969 J. QALLEAUME DEVICES CONSTITUTING CORRUGATED SHEET ELEMENTS PLATES AND THEIR- VARIOUS APPLICATIONS Filed July 28, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M/VE/VTOE -JZ71/V ALLEJUME 424%? 921% 477' ewiyr .1. AYLL'VEAUME' 9 DEVICES CONSTITUTI-NGGORRUGATED SHEET ELEMENTS OR PLATES AND THEIR VARIOUS APPLICATIONS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 28, 1966 M VEIVITZZQ 24/1 44: 40075 924% 2M 47' mm United States Patent Office us. (:1. 29-183 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sheet metal plate provided with three by three intersecting corrugations projecting all entirely from the same side of said plate and arranged into a network of uniform pattern consisting of substantially regular adjacent juxtaposed hexagons defining smooth uncorrugated regular hexagonal areas located in the initial sheet surface, each intersection of corrugations being formed by three angularly equidistant corrugations, the crest lines of which meet at a common point and which are each formed adjacent to said intersection with a transverse depression extending across the crest of the corrugation and of a depth less than the height of the corrugation.

The present invention has essentially for its objects a device constituting a corrugated, pleated or ribbed plate or panel element formed from flat stock such as sheetmetal or other materials, as well as the miscellaneous applications resulting from its utilisation or implementation.

It is already known, notably through the US. patent application Ser. No. 374,042 filed on June 10, 1964, in the name of the applicant and granted on Jan. 24, 1967 as US. Patent No. 3,299,598 and through the C.I.P. application Ser. No. 476,988 filed on Aug. 3, 1965 and granted on Feb. 7, 1967 as US. Patent No. 3,302,359 and also through US. patent application Ser. No. 518,111 filed on Jan. 3, 1966, also in the name of the applicant, to provide such sheet-metal or plate elements formed with a pattern of multiple spaced and mutually secant corrugations, preferably projecting unilaterally from a same side of the element and substantially without any projection of material on the opposite side, these corrugations forming therebetween surfaces or areas of substantially polygonal configuration, at least some of the Waves of said corrugations comprising in the vicinity of each one of their intersections with the other waves at least one hollow impression, at least in their crest portion. In these known devices the corrugation pattern is constituted by several groups or series of corrugations, the corrugations of a same group being substantially parallel to one another, whereby each wave intersection constitutes a kind of star having an even number of legs distributed into any desired or arbitrary number of pairs of opposed legs substantially aligned with, or at least parallel to, a same planar direction.

It is the object of the present invention to further generalize the principle on which these corrugated elernetns are based, and the device according to this invention is remarkable notably in that each intersection aforesaid is substantially of star-like con-figuration with any desired odd or even, number of legs, these legs being at least three per star and consisting respectively of convergent wave sections each comprising preferably the aforesaid hollow impression in the vicinity of the wave intersection.

According to another feature characterising this invention, the aforesaid corrugation pattern is substantially 3,485,596 Patented Dec. 23, 1969 regular and consists of regular hexagons whereby each intersection junction within said pattern constitutes a kind of three-legged star with the legs having a constant angular relationship. On the other hand it will be proved that as a rule the only regular polygons of a regular polygonal pattern of which the intersection junctions are in the form of stars having their legs either disposed with a uniform relative angular spacing, or uniformly distributed about the star, are the square (having therefore an even number of sides), the equilateral triangle and the regular hexagon.

However, this invention is also concerned with those cases wherein the wave systems are so arranged that they constitute a pattern of which the intersection junctions constitute stars having an even or odd number of legs or wave sections distributed either arbitrarily or in any desired manner about the intersection junction; in other words, wherein the relative angular spacing of the adjacent legs of a same star may be irregular or non-uniform, so that the angles formed between adjacent legs of a same star may vary and differ from one another.

According to another feature characterising the present invention, each hollow impression consists in a manner known per se of a concave folding preferably of substantially dihedral re-entrant configuration having its crest directed substantially across the wave direction.

This invention is also concerned with the various applications of the device broadly set forth hereinabove, notably in the construction of flexible or yielding walls of housings, enclosures, tanks, reservoirs, vats or like containers and vessels, for example of the type used for storing, preserving and/or transporting highly cooled or heated fluids, or in the construction of nuclear reactor vessel or casing, as well as the structures, systems and plants equipped therewith.

Other features and advantages of this invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description referring to the attached drawings illustrating diagrammatically by way of example typical forms of embodiment of the device of this invention. In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing one portion of a sheet-iron element or panel corrugated according to a first form of embodiment comprising a regular hexagonal pattern;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing a separate sheet-iron element to illustrate on a larger scale the detail constituted by the star-like configuration of an intersection junction of three waves disposed at from each other.

In the form of embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 1 the sheet 1 comprises, preferably substantially throughout its surface, a substantially regular hexagonal pattern of corrugations 2 all projecting from a same face or side of the sheet 1. The basic sheet 1 may be either substantially flat or have a generally skew or curved configuration. Each corrugation may have any desired convex cross-sectional contour, but this contour will preferably be symmetric in relation to a longitudinal median plane intersecting the crest of the corrugation, and substantially normal to the basic sheet surface. These corrugations may if desired have variable or different-heights and wave shapes from one corrugation to another, but it will be advantageous that all the corrugations have substantially the same shape and dimensions.

Each intersection junction 3 forming in plane view a vertex common to three adjacent hexagonal surfaces or areas 4 consists of a kind of star or spider having three legs constituted by the three wave sections 2 converging toward this junction, the relative angular spacing of these legs being 120. Each wave section 2 disposed between adjacent hexagonal areas 4 and leading to an intersection junction 3 comprises in preferably close vicinity of this junction a hollow impression preferably of substantially re-entrant dihedral configuration, impressed substantially across the crest portion of the wave which may for instance have likewise a substantially dihedtal projecting or convex configuration, or a semi-circular or pointed (ogival) cross-sectional configuration.

In the case of a basic sheet 1 of substantially flat initial configuration the corrugations will advantageously be substantially cylindrical or prismatic or polyhedral, for example dihedral.

FIGURE 2 illustrates on a larger scale a three-legged corrugation star.

The corrugated configuration according to this invention imparts the desired flexibility to the sheet-metal element notably in a direction tangent to the sheet and in all directions in the surface thereof. This flexibility, notably in the tangent direction, is adapted to absorb deformations caused by heat contraction or expansion, or by stress of mechanical origin.

Of course, this invention should not be construed as being limited by the specific forms of embodiments illustrated and described herein, for many modifications may be brought thereto without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet-like metal plate element at least one portion of which is formed with three sets of substantially parallel, transversely equally spaced, inverted channellike, identical discontinous corrugations of uniform cross section projecting all from a same side of said plate element Without any projection of material from the opposite side thereof, the directions of said three sets intersecting each other at equal angles of 120, respective ly, and each discontinuous corrugation of each set consisting of equally longitudinally spaced and equally long, alined, raised, convex, wave-like sections meeting each one endwise and integrally connected with one wave-like section of corrugation of each other set, so as to form together a network of uniform pattern consisting of substantially regular, adjacent, juxtaposed hexagons defining smooth, uncorrugated, regular, hexagonal areas located in the initial sheet surface, each intersection of corrugations having thus a substantially three-limb starlike configuration, the converging angularly equidistant Wave-like sections of which have the theoretical ridge lines of their crests meeting at a common point of concurrence forming the centre of the intersection, each wave-like section of said corrugations being formed adjacent to each associated intersection with one hollow depression in the shape of a substantially wedge-like recess impressed into and extending transversely of the crest portion of said wave-like section with a depth less than the height of said wave-like section, thereby forming a transverse rib across and inside the trough of said wave-like section on the opposite side of said plate element, said depressions located about each intersection thus defining a projecting hump at the centre thereof, and said plate element having a wholly geometrically de- Velopable surface throughout with merely folded features made in one piece with said plate element.

2. A plate element according to claim 1, wherein each depression is an indent providing a transversely widened top surface of convex contour in the crest of each corrugation whereby the theoretical ridge line of said crest terminates on both sides of said depression by dividing into two diverging convex boundary fold lines falling down upon spreading apart to reach the bottom of said top surface thereby gradually broadening the latter, the convex folds corresponding to said convex fold lines connecting said top surface to two lateral convex face portions formed in and protruding sidewise in opposite directions, respectively, from either lateral faces of said corrugation, thereby forming a lateral bulge therein.

3. A plate element according to claim 2, wherein each raised wave-like section of each corrugation has substantially the shape of a cylindrical surface.

4. A plate element according to claim 2, wherein each raised Wave-like section of each corrugation has substantially the shape of a prismatic surface.

5. A plate element according to claim 2, wherein each corrugation is substantially symmetrical about a plane extending slengthwise thereof and substantially normal to the initial sheet surface of said plate element.

6. A plate element according to claim 5, wherein each depression is formed by a concave fold having substantially the shape of a fragmentary re-entrant dihedron the edge line of which extends substantially at right angles to said plane of symmetry of the associated corrugation and meets at its opposite ends, respectively, at a common point said convex fold lines issuing from the theoretical ridge line of the crest of said corrugation and a convex folding line formed in each lateral face portion of said corrugation in a plane transverse thereto and substantially normal to said smooth uncorrugated areas, each one of said convex folding lines extending down towards the concave base fold connecting the corrugation to the adjacent smooth uncorrugated area and having its lower end connected to the ends of said theoretical ridge line, on either side of said depression, by a pair of concave fold lines, respectively, on either side of said convex folding line, so that the area bounded by one convex fold line, one convex folding line and one concave fold lines has a substantially triangular shape.

7. A plate element according to claim 6, wherein each raised wave-like portion of each corrugation has substantially the shape of a salient dihedron so that each re-entrant dihedron forming each depression has substantially plane triangular lateral faces and each one of said lateral bulges in said corrugation having substantially the shape of a salient dihedron with substantially plane triangular lateral faces, all the boundary edges thereof being formed by substantially straight fold lines.

8. A plate element according to claim 7, wherein each folding edge line is formed by a rounded fillet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,118,523 1/1964 Girot 52573 3,299,598 1/1967 Alleaume 5263O X 3,302,359 2/1967 Alleaurne 52-630 X 3,321,881 5/1967 Alleaume 52276 3,325,953 6/1967 Alleaume 52276 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,370,087 7/ 1964 France.

L. DEWAYNE RUTLEDGE, Primary Examiner J. E. LEGRU, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

